In a manufacturing process for a semiconductor device, a certain gas (hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and so forth) is supplied into a gas cabinet apparatus to create a specific condition for washing, cleaning, and the like. At this time, a manifold-type valve is used to control a small-size single-acting gas cylinder.
In a fluid control system employing a plurality of solenoid-actuated valves using air pressure, hydraulic pressure, and so forth, wiring between each solenoid-actuated valve and a driving apparatus or a controller is very complicated. Accordingly, to simplify wiring and reduce an attachment space, a manifold-type valve assembly having a solenoid-actuated valve installed on a base of a manifold has been employed. For example, one of manifold-type valve assemblies is disclosed in a Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2004-100790.
Such a conventional manifold-type valve assembly has: one or more solenoid-actuated valves as necessary; manifold blocks for mounting thereon the solenoid valves individually while connecting them to each other; and an air supply/exhaust block for supplying or exhausting compressed air through the insides of the manifold blocks. In general, the solenoid-actuated valves installed on the manifold blocks include a single solenoid-actuated valve (hereinafter, simply referred to as a single-type valve) for performing a switching of a flow path of a main valve by means of a single solenoid; and a double solenoid-actuated valve (hereinafter, simply referred to as a double-type valve) for performing a switching of the flow path of the main valve by means of two solenoids.
As for such a manifold-type valve assembly, though it is possible to drive each of the solenoid-actuated valves mounted on the manifold blocks by using a common control signal, the number, i.e., one or two, of solenoids is varied depending on whether a solenoid-actuated valve is a single-type valve or a double-type valve and, thus, it is required to adjust a circuit configuration to be suitable for either one of them. Further, given that one of the solenoid-actuated valves individually mounted on the manifold blocks can be replaced by a double-type valve from a single-type valve or vice versa, it is preferable to switch the circuit configuration for controlling the solenoid-actuated valves in a simple manner. In general, a control scheme for controlling a solenoid-actuated valve by providing an electrical power to the solenoid-actuated valve is installed in a signal board inside a manifold block. In such a case, depending on whether the solenoid-actuated valve installed on a certain manifold block is a single-type valve or a double-type valve, the controlling type of the control scheme is predetermined and the predetermined control scheme is accommodated in the manifold block. Therefore, when a certain solenoid-actuated valve mounted on the manifold block is alternated between a single-type valve and a double-type valve, not only the solenoid-actuated valve assembly needs to be changed but also a control scheme disposed in its manifold block should be changed by dismantling the manifold block, which is very troublesome.